Redfin has announced it will publish agent commissions on thousands of public listings after the Department of Justice and the National Association of Realtors reached a settlement agreement designed to make agent fees more transparent.
The Seattle-based firm announced Monday that it would publish the information about buyers’ broker commissions on some 700,000 listings where the data is available.
“Homebuyers will finally see how much money their agent stands to earn on any home for sale, letting them evaluate whether they’re getting good value for their money,” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said in a statement.
The shift follows a settlement reached last November between NAR and the DOJ, under which the real estate trade organization agreed to alter its policies to increase competition in the market.
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The agency had accused NAR of putting “illegal restraints” on the way realtors compete.
The settlement proposed by the DOJ’s Antitrust Division required NAR to change its rules to create more transparency around buyers’ broker fees and “cease misrepresenting that buyer broker services are free,” among other pledges.
Redfin said it currently shows commission information for listings in about 65 MLSs and will “add data in additional areas as it becomes available.”
The brokerage said it had earlier published information about its own agents’ commissions but until the settlement, it was unable to publish the information from other firms.
“People listing their home will find out what other sellers are paying buyers’ agents, without having to take their agents’ word for it,” Kelman said. “This information could usher in a new era of price competition.”